At Publicis Groupe’s Annual General Meeting on May 29, shareholders will vote on a proposal by Maurice Levy, chairman of the supervisory board, that the company shift from a dual structure corporation with a supervisory board and management board (directoire), and instead adopt the more widespread model of a single structure corporation with a board of directors. The supervisory board has unanimously approved the proposal.
In the new structure, Arthur Sadoun would become chairman and CEO of the Board. A lead director would be appointed.
Maurice Lévy would be named chairman emeritus in order for the Groupe to continue to benefit from his insight, experience, and leadership.
“Publicis Groupe has a long history of anticipating change and transforming itself to face the future,” Maurice Lévy commented. “The primary responsibility of any board is to ensure that a company has both the governance structure and the teams it needs to lead it forward. With this in mind, I proposed changing the governance of the Groupe in order to put in place a board of directors, with Arthur Sadoun as chairman and CEO. It’s the most effective way of maintaining the Groupe’s success, now and in the long term. I’m delighted that the cupervisory board was unanimous in its approval of this change, and confident that our shareholders will give it their support, seeing it as the means of preserving and perpetuating the outstanding results that have taken our group to new heights.”
“The aim of this change in governance is simple: to preserve the driving forces behind the Groupe’s success and maintain the model that has made Publicis our industry’s most valuable company in terms of market capitalisation. It will also allow us to continue the duo that we have formed with Maurice Lévy since 2017, which has seen Publicis extract itself from the pack and emerge as a clear leader in our sector. The continuity of our partnership, combined with the incredible talent of our teams around the world and our best-in-class capabilities make us more confident than ever in our ability to help our clients transform and thrive in this ever-changing environment, and drive even greater value and innovation for all of our stakeholders. For those reasons, I hope that our shareholders will support this proposal,” added Arthur Sadoun.
